E.G.O. “GO” (Gameplay Options)

We want the rules of our Evil Genius Organized-Play (E.G.O.) to be quick and easy to understand. That way, GMs and players can jump from their day jobs right into the thick of the action—just like Everyday Heroes. This Gameplay Options walks you through:

1. The E.G.O. program for players.
2. The E.G.O. program for Goons (GMs).
3. How to get the most out of your E.G.O. program.

These rules will be updated periodically, such as whenever new books are released or E.G.O. expands to include new game systems.

The Everyday Heroes Dispatch App–Where It All Happens.

E.G.O. GMs and players all use Dispatch, an easy-to-use, web-based (nothing to download) app that allows GMs to schedule, run, and log games, and players to find and join games as well as to create and track multiple characters. You don’t need the app if you or someone else just wants to sit down at a table and play a game with one of the pre-generated characters to see what it’s like (as long as the GM and other players are cool with that), but in order to really partake in E.G.O., you need Dispatch.

• Set up your Dispatch account at orgplay.app today and get started!
• We also have a handy downloadable Guide, Setting Up and Using Dispatch For E.G.O. [link]. 

The E.G.O. Code of Conduct

We strive to create a positive gaming environment, both in-person and online, where all players feel welcomed, respected, safe, and valued, and from which all leave the game table eager to return. For this reason, the Evil Genius E.G.O. Code of Conduct governs all participation in the E.G.O. program and at E.G.O. events whether these games and events are in-person or online. You can read, download, and print the Code of Conduct here: https://evilgeniusgames.com/code-of-conduct/

1. E.G.O. for Everyday Heroes (EDH) Players

Everyday Heroes is our flagship game, where everyday people leave their mundane lives behind to take part in fast-paced action- or spy-movie adventures. These games use the following game sources:

• The Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook (see Character Creation)
• The Vault: Rules Compendium, Volume 01 (see Content Unlocks)

E.G.O. currently features three kinds of Everyday Heroes adventures. These are:

• Assignments: 3-4 hour long adventures, typically worth 2 Milestone Points (see below) that have “The E.G.O. Program” stamp on the front cover.
• Plots: 1-2 hour long adventures, typically worth 1 Milestone Point that have “The E.G.O. Program” stamp on the front cover. All Plots are repeatable (see below).
• “Schemes”: Non-E.G.O. adventures with an “E.G.O.-Approved” stamp on the front cover. Schemes are worth 1-2 Milestone Points, depending on length, and can only be played using the pre-generated characters included with the adventure unless otherwise noted.

Maximum and Minimum Number of Heroes/Players

The maximum number of heroes for an E.G.O. Assignment or Plot is six, and the minimum number is four. If only three players are present, and if the GM and all the players agree, one player may “double up” with a pre-generated iconic hero to meet the minimum number of heroes. If this occurs, the pre-generated iconic hero’s level should be made as high as possible (maximum being the highest-level player hero character present).

Character Creation and “Retraining” Your Level 1 Hero

E.G.O. uses your choice of the Point Buy or Standard Set methods for creating characters (page 26 of the Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook), just like any other Everyday Heroes game, with three exceptions:

• You may only use content from the Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook unless you have unlocked other rules sources (see below).
• You may not use the “Creating New Backgrounds” or “Creating New Professions” rules from the Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook.
• You may not purchase items above your wealth level during E.G.O. games, or acquire restricted items except as an adventure reward or content unlock.

Character “Retraining” (Level 1 only). To allow players some flexibility to adjust a new hero character to their liking, E.G.O. allows players to “retrain” (aka, make changes to) their hero, so long as the character is still at Level 1. Upon reaching Level 2, character choices are locked in and can only be modified by using in-game rewards or the expenditure of Evil Credits.

Milestones and Leveling-Up Your Character

Everyday Heroes marks “Milestones” as significant moments in campaigns when characters can level up. For the E.G.O. program, we have assigned Milestone Points (MP) to each of our adventures, usually in increments of 1 or 2. Every time a character reaches six MP, they level up, following the normal rules from the Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook. For leveling up Hit Points, use the “Half your Hit Dice + 1 + Constitution Modifier” method.

Field Training

When players with characters at different levels sit down at the same game table, E.G.O. adventures always increase in difficulty to match the highest-level character. To compensate, the higher-level REDEMPTION agents give their junior allies “field training” to make them ready to face the challenges ahead. In game terms, this means that lower-level characters gain certain benefits and adjustments, though only for the duration of the adventure, in order to balance play.

Field Training Adjustments

The Things They Carry: Battle Scars and Mental Scars

It can be difficult to cope with character death and evil acts during play in modern roleplay settings. To better resolve these occurrences when they happen, E.G.O. uses “Battle Scars” and “Mental Scars” from the Everyday Heroes game mechanics in the following ways:

• Battle Scars: If your hero character would die during the course of an E.G.O. adventure, your character instead remains alive, stable and unconscious, and gains a Battle Scar. Roll a d8 to determine the Battle Scar according to the table below (reroll if you get a result that your character already has) and continue the adventure.

Be aware, however, that Battle Scars inflict permanent injuries on heroes that persist into future games unless healed through extraordinary measures such as an in-game reward or spending Evil Credits. They apply permanent Disadvantage to a particular type of check (you choose from the chart when your character receives the Battle Scar). However, the Battle Scar does grant Advantage on a different type of check, though only once per game.

• Mental Scars: REDEMPTION is somewhat strict about hiring those who seek to do good in the world. While some allowances can be made, those who employ extreme tactics too often will find themselves removed from the organization. If your character commits an “evil act” (as defined by the adventure or by your GM, who has this discretion) during play, it suffers a Mental Scar. Like Battle Scars, Mental Scars persist and can only be healed by extraordinary means or with Evil Credits; however, they have no in-game mechanics like Battle Scars do.
• 3 Scars and You’re Out: If a character acquires a combination of three Battle and/or Mental Scars, they are removed and retired from all E.G.O. play at the end of the current game. You can only endure just so much.

Note: Given the consequences of Mental Scars, a GM must always warn a player (and let them reconsider their actions) before giving their character a Mental Scar.

Example: Making a Charisma (Intimidation) check to get information from an old grandmother is not a great look for REDEMPTION agents, but it’s not going to get anyone fired from their job. However, holding a gun to that old woman’s head in order to gain Advantage on the check (or worse, pulling the trigger afterwards…) will give your character a Mental Scar.

Battle Scar Rolls

2. E.G.O. for Everyday Heroes Goons (GMs): The Goon Squad Toolbox

Serving as a GM for an E.G.O. Everyday Heroes game is nearly identical to running a non-E.G.O. game. The only difference is that you manage all of the “paperwork” through the Everyday Heroes Dispatch app. Managing E.G.O. games is easy because you will use Dispatch to schedule your games, add your players, start/stop the game timer, and “report” your game when finished. Doing this is easy: just a few button-clicks in the app makes it so there’s no paperwork for you to worry about!

Running Games for E.G.O.

Being a GM is more of an art than a science. Always remember that your primary job as an E.G.O. Goon is to provide a fun, fair, and positive experience for all your players (and yourself!) so that every participant in our shared program can enjoy the same games no matter where they are playing or with whom. During the game, you have broad discretion to make that happen. As long as people are having fun, we can figure out pretty much anything else afterward.

The E.G.O. Code of Conduct

Make sure that you read and understand the E.G.O. Code of Conduct, which governs Evil Genius Games staff, volunteers, and players. If you have any questions about it, please ask! The Minions, Assassins, Lieutenants, and Organized Play Manager are here for you. 

As the GM, you have both a personal responsibility for maintaining decorum according to the CoC around your table, and broad discretion for how you do that. Minions and event organizers are there to back you up as the arbiters of disagreements that extend beyond your ability to regulate. However, if you are in a situation where you do not have immediate recourse to a Minion or event organizer and/or you feel that an amicable resolution cannot be realized, it’s better to call a halt to the game than to let players continue to do harm to each other or to you. 

Dicey Subjects

Everyday Heroes games are set in a world very similar to our own, and that world is not always easy to navigate. Our writers do their best to handle issues of politics, religion, culture clashes, and representation with care. However, we also ask our GMs to pay attention to these issues when reading and preparing to run E.G.O. adventures, and to make provisions for handling them at the table, so that everyone (including the GM) has a fun and enjoyable experience.

The Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook presents many useful tools (the X-Card, Fade to Black, etc.) for GMs who need a hand tackling certain dicey topics during adventures, but these are not the only items at your disposal! Our E.G.O. Evil Minions (see our Goons and Minions page here) can answer questions, provide guidance, back you up with the Code of Conduct, and help resolve any issues that come up after the game ends.

Mental Scars

As a reminder from the section above on “Mental Scars,” if a hero character is about to perform an evil act (even one not listed in the adventure itself—you have discretion here), this can earn them a Mental Scar. However, as the GM, you must warn the player before giving this to them and allow that player a chance to reconsider their actions. GMs should ask players if they are sure that they wish to continue with the action in question, even knowing that it will mentally scar their hero character. GMs should re-confirm that the player knows this decision will lead to a Mental Scar and that an accumulation of three scars (Mental and/or Battle) will retire their hero permanently from the E.G.O. program.

Running E.G.O. Aventures

Adventure Structure

Assignments, Plots, and Schemes for Everyday Heroes all generally follow the same structure:

1. An adventure summary with background for the GM to read,
2. An introductory section for everyone,
3. The main body of the adventure itself,
4. A rewards section (except in Schemes),
5. Appendices with information, handouts, maps, and NPC stat blocks.

Digital E.G.O. adventures will also have annotated maps that can be extracted for use on Virtual Tabletop programs or used as guidance for those who wish to draw them. 

Level Ranges and Repeatable Adventures

All E.G.O. Everyday Heroes adventures are listed on Dispatch with a level range. The level range indicates at what level(s) hero characters need to be to participate in the adventure (or, in the case of Schemes, to receive MP and rewards). These ranges will almost always be one of the following:

• Level 1; 1-2; 1-4; 3-6; 5-8; 9-10

Additionally, some Everyday Heroes Assignments (along with all Plots and Schemes) will be designated as “repeatable” adventures rather than “everyday” adventures. For more information on how these adventures work for players, see the “Repeating Adventures and E.G.O. Schemes” section below. 

Any time that you run an E.G.O adventure as a GM, you may choose to designate one of your level-appropriate characters to receive MP and rewards from that game as if you had played the game as a player.( This applies even if the adventure is normally not repeatable.)

Adjusting Levels Balance: “Field Training”

One important thing that an E.G.O. GM must do when seating players is to adjust the level of the adventure to that of the highest-level hero character at the game table. To do this, simply ask each player what level their hero is. This allows you to set the appropriate level and doubles as a segue to having the players engage in “Field Training” (see above), so that their characters are on-par with one another before the adventure begins.

Example: In the level 1-4 Assignment “Meat: the Enemy,” if there is one level 3 hero seated at the table but everyone else is playing level 1 or 2 heroes, the GM should simply ask those players to apply one or two levels of Field Training to their heroes before play begins.

For Enemies: Villain Enhancement Serum

Just as hero characters can benefit from “Field Training” when there is a disparity between character levels at a table, NPCs and enemies in adventures can gain additional toughness beyond what is written on their Stat Blocks.

E.G.O. Assignments and Plots higher than level range 1-2 are written with only two “tiers” in mind. When encountering hero characters who are one level higher than these tiers, GMs should have all NPCs and enemies drink “Villain Enhancement Serum,” which gives them +10 Hit Points. For games where the heroes are level 5 or above, this serum also gives a +1 bonus to Attack Rolls.

Example: In the level 1-4 Assignment “Meat: the Enemy,” the adventure presents enemies for level 1 heroes and level 3 heroes. If the heroes are level 2, the GM should use level 1 enemies plus 10 Hit Points each. In a level 3-6 adventure, if the heroes are level 6, the GM should use level 5 enemies plus 10 Hit Points and a +1 bonus to Attack Rolls each.

Optional Rules

In addition to the “Field Training” and “Battle/Mental Scars” rules, the E.G.O. program makes use of two Optional Rules found on p. 298 of the Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook.

• Quick Rests. Quick Rests may be taken twice per in-game day during E.G.O. Assignments and Plots, unless the adventure text itself states otherwise.

1. Inspiration. GMs may choose to award Inspiration when players do really cool things during the game, subject to the guidelines for using this resource. Some players (often Goons and Evil Minions) may be able to earn rewards that allow them to start games with Inspiration to distribute to multiple heroes at the table. Without those rewards, however, heroes should not begin games with Inspiration.

Repeating Adventures and E.G.O. Schemes

Although crafted in sequence with each other, E.G.O. Assignments may be played in any order. However, most E.G.O. Assignments have stories that are not designed to be retold (because they have twists and surprises that would be spoiled if replayed). Because of this, “Everyday” Assignments that are not marked as “repeatable” may be played only once to earn MP and rewards. If a game table is at risk of not meeting the minimum number of players, a player may choose to play a pre-generated iconic hero for an Assignment that they have already completed. In this case, the player’s characters will not receive any MP or rewards. 

On the other hand, E.G.O. Assignments marked as “repeatable” (and all Everyday Heroes Plots) can be played an unlimited number of times receiving MP and rewards as long as it is with a different character each time. Players are encouraged to let their GM know if they have already played the Assignment in a previous iteration so that the GM can make choices from their available options in order to keep the game fresh and fun for everyone at the table.

Like E.G.O. Plots, E.G.O. “Schemes” may be repeated so long as players use the pre- generated heroes that are included in the adventure. However, each time a player replays the Scheme, the MP and rewards must be applied to a different character, even if that means creating a new character,  so long as the character falls in the level-range of the Scheme.

Playing a Game for Which You Have Been a GM

If you are playing a game that you have already run as a GM, we require you to let your GM know this information before the game starts. Also, take care not to undermine the gaming experience for the other players at the table by spoiling secrets or surprises during the adventure.

Handling “Outside of the Box” Situations

Rules for New and Unregistered Players

There may be a variety of situations where a player may want to join an E.G.O. game but has not yet purchased a Core Rule Book or created an account and characters in Dispatch. Our general feeling is that, if there’s room at the table, willingness among the GM and players, and someone wants to give Everyday Heroes or E.G.O. a try, let them! In such cases: 

1. To help players new to Everyday Heroes and to make sure that characters of every type are available, new players may use the 12 pre-generated iconic heroes available as free downloads. These pre-generated heroes represent two Classes per Archetype out of the Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook and have character sheets available at levels 1, 3, and 5. This way, players without a character, or players without an appropriately-leveled character, will almost always have an easy way to participate in the game. 
2. Players may not, at this time, use the Everyday Heroes Quickstart Guide for E.G.O. character creation pending revisions to the 

Registered Players Transferring or Holding Credit Using Pre-generated Heroes

When players who already have characters set up on Dispatch elect to use pre-generated heroes instead, the MP and rewards from the pre-generated hero are handled in one of these two ways:

• If a player chooses to play a pre-generated hero at a level that one of their own hero characters could have played, they must apply the MP and rewards to a Level 1 character, even if that means creating a new character.
• If a player chooses to play a pre-generated hero at a level above what their own hero characters could have played, they can “hold” the MP and rewards of the pre-generated hero until one of their own characters reaches the minimum level for that same adventure. 

Example 1: You have a Level 3 character, “Aslok the Magnificent,” but decide to use a pre-generated iconic hero, Katie Paige, to play in a Level 1-4 Assignment instead. You must apply the MP and rewards for Katie to a Level 1 character of your own, even if it means making a new character.

Example 2: You have a Level 2 character, “Gorçiam Blindside,” but you want to play in a Level 3-6 Assignment. You decide to use the pre-generated iconic hero, “Glen Sharktooth McPherson,” in order to participate in that game. When Gorçiam reaches Level 3, they gain the MP and rewards from Glen. You may, alternatively, hold Glen’s MP and rewards for one of your Level 1 characters.

Winging It (conventions and other special venues)

In some situations, such as conventions and other venues at which games are sometimes scheduled and filled in advance, sometimes scheduled close up or same-day, and sometimes only by sign-in sheet, here are some suggestions for handling the challenges: 

If games are assigned and posted well in advance, this should give time for people to see the game, get the app, and sign up for the game through Dispatch as per usual. 

If games are assigned and posted closer-up to play, create the game entry in Dispatch as soon as you find out which session(s) you are running. This way, players can begin to sign up for sessions in which they want to play as per usual. New or Non-E.G.O. players who do not have the app should be accommodated using pre-generated characters as per the rules for New and Unregistered Players above. Then: 

• When players check in at the entry table, they can be directed to the table to go to for their game.
• The GM should use the app to confirm players as they arrive.
• Once all the players have arrived and the table is full (including new/non-E.G.O. players), or 5 minutes past start time has gone by, the GM should start the game.

In situations in which the only option is using a sign-in sheet, a sign-in sheet should have spaces for the following information: 

For the GM: 

• The GM’s E.G.O. number (if applicable).
• The scenario played. 
• The results as per the GM recording notes asked for at the end of the adventure.

For the player:

• The player’s E.G.O. number (from the app) if they have one,
• The player’s name (required), email (required), and Discord ID (optional),
• The player’s character name and level (required).

At the end of the game or event, email a copy of the sign-up sheet to [email protected] and note that E.G.O. credits need inputting into the system so we can flag it. No credit will be given apart from the information on the sign-in sheet, and incomplete required sign-up information will result in the credit not being applied, so having players include all the required information on the sheet is important. 

3. Getting More out of Your E.G.O. Games (for Players and Goons)

Content Unlocks (Updated 25 Jan 2024)

Playing E.G.O. adventures and purchasing Evil Genius products enables players to gain access (“unlock”) content from The Vault rules compendium(s) for their E.G.O. characters. Here’s how that works:

• Everyday Heroes Assignments and Plots will list unlocks as part of the Rewards after the conclusion of each adventure.
• A future iteration of our Everyday Heroes Dispatch app will automatically track unlocked content earned through gameplay, but during the early days of the E.G.O. program we are trusting in the honor system for players to track their own rewards.
• Schemes and other purchasable content will be listed on this E.G.O. “GO” page.
• Family households may share purchased resources for the purposes of content unlocks.
• Proof of purchase is sufficient to prove access to content at a game table.

Unlocking Content with Cinematic Sourcebooks, Adventure Paths, and The Vault

Players who have purchased Evil Genius Games Cinematic Sourcebooks (aka Cinematic Adventures), or who received them as part of an Evil Genius Games Kickstarter campaign, unlock the following items from The Vault: Rules Compendium Volume 01:

Players who have purchased: Unlock: